Nocturne of Shadow
by Gabrielmanga
Summary: On a cold rainy night, a pact shall be made, light shall cross with darkness, good shall fused with evil.  A pact made to save a soul, but kill another.  This is the story of a demon and a nun.  rated M: mature content/mild language for later.
1. Prologue

**Author note: Well, first of all, a BIG WARM HELLO! ^^After a long absence in the field of writing, I finally decided upon much thinking, to try my hand at it again (thought I never posted anything here.)As you can see, this is an A/U, a multi-chapter (the number of chapter is unknown) and it shall take place around the year 1780 - 1820) I hope it shall be to your liking!**

**Some warning just in case**

**- This is M for mature, so I think you all know what it means = possible lemon for later and strong language.**

**- If you do not like this pairing, keep yourself from stating it in the review, it is only a waste of words when you take in consideration that you read this story.**

**- For Catholic or religious people: there might be some content that won't be to your liking ( religion put in doubt and such.) so if you do not like your religion being " bashed ( thought it won't be "bashed" in the proper sense of the word.) I suggest you pass your way.**

**- Possible scene of gore , if it's not your cup of tea, a warning shall be put to warn you if a chapter contain any scene close to that.**

**This story is dedicated to Whispering-Mink, which has been such an incredible friend/confident/rp partner , I can't even express my thanks properly with mere words, I simply hope you enjoy what you inspire me to write, I much thank you for all you've done ,THANK YOU!**

**She shall also be my beta-reader for this fic! giver her a big thank you for it!  
**

**That is all! Enjoy the reading!**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The rain pouring against the ground, steady, unstoppable and cold, was one of the ways to describe the fateful night of the damned's capture. The members of the clergy were doing their best not to be affected by the hard needles of water falling against the hood of their robes. Their concentration needed to be at its best considering the moment. The low growling coming from the giant box, was making the men shiver, as they transported it to the nearby means of transportation: a car pulled by two white horses.

"Be careful not to drop it!"One man said, his orange hair barely visible because of the clothing covering it. His voice was confident and motivating for the men lifting the box.  
The dirt covered boots of another priest made a squishing sound as he approached the precedent man.

"We finally did it; the pope shall be pleased to hear of your success father Kurosaki."

The orange-haired young man turned around to face his interlocutor, frowning slightly in a warning manner. "We can never consider this a success until this "damned" is inside the church..."turning around to face the men carrying the box, he shouted; "Keep your concentration at the maximum! We must head straight for the church!"

All the other priests did the best they could to lift the box into the car – the contents weight, making the box shake when it was put down. The coats of all the members of the clergy were gradually becoming wetter with every raindrop that landed on their skin. It wasn't helping at all that the overall feeling of danger were surrounding them - like a gallow choking them with the feelings of panic and terror.

"We have finished the installation, father!"

The father nodded slowly, getting into the car as fast as possible. Strangely, the box stayed calm when it was in the cab. Sitting on the bench in front of it, Father Kurosaki was contemplating the situation at hand; they had finally succeeded in capturing a fully living "damned one", and they could finally prove to the other members of the organization that the terrifying creatures in fact did exist. Of course, it was only natural that they would use the opportunity to experiment on the creature in order to gain knowledge about the spawn of Satan.

The mission demanded time, courage, determination and cleverness. It took many lives, but their goal was reached and the soul of those who sacrificed themselves wouldn't be lost in vain. The thought alone made the orange-haired man smile in contentment.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, Ulquiorra Cifer, murciélago de las noches..."

The only answer he got was a low growl followed by a high-pitched noise.

****4444****


	2. Chapter 1: a nun's embarassment

**The story now begin! =3 Don't mind the writting for now , it shall later be beta-read by the awesome Whispering-mink 3 , hope you enjoy it! 3 **

**i know the beginning sound quite ichihimish, but trust me , it won't stay this way 3 enjoy!**

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The silence of the convent, on a warm morning of May, was usually broken with the chattering of nun and priest. Talking about daily choirs, the inability they had to sing in the chorals early this morning or how they finally succeed in pleasing the pope with the last mission. That day however, the usually calm hallway was disturbed by fast and loud footsteps; the other sisters glanced at a ginger blurry figure as it went pass them in a hurry, a soft yet child-like voice coming from it.

"I'm late! I'm so late!"

The spectator could only be slightly amused by the situation before one of them softly said;

"Ahh...Orihime's late again, isn't she?"

The other sister could only smile slightly at her interlocutor.

"If she could sleep instead of reading her books at night, maybe then she will stop waking up so late."

She chuckled warmly as both continue their way to the classroom, where the precedent ginger-haired girl ran to. The wind was blowing quite strongly for a sunny day, which made the robe of many convents' occupants move elegantly in the mind.

Orihime's arrival in the choral's classroom didn't go by unnoticed. Most of her classmates were already ready and standing at their assigned places. The teacher sends her a rude look as she quite harshly gives the orange-haired woman a sign to go sit at her place, which she did so with a slow hesitant pace.

"I hope that next time; you shall try to arrive on time, Miss Inoue? Such behaviour can't be tolerated from a nun such as yourself, try to be a little more responsible." The tones of the teacher could give Goosebumps of fear to anyone.

"I...it won't happen again, Lisa-sensei..." The embarrassment was evident on her fragile feature, her hand playing with her long orange hair was only adding to the evidence. Muffled laughing and chuckle could be heard from her other classmates, who made her even more embarrassed than she was already.

When the class finally started again and got back to its normality, a black haired young woman discreetly tapped on Orihime's shoulder.

"Where were you? You woke up late again? ...what could you possibly do at night to wake up at such hours?"

It took a moment for the young nun to reply back. "I was simply at the Library; it's nothing to worry about. I just had some texts to read..."

The dubitative look given by her friend didn't seem to convince even herself.

"You know you could always read them during free time or lunch time..."

Orihime tried to lower the tone of her voice to allow herself to respond without being heard by the teacher speaking of a quite boring subject having to do with holy water and possession.

"I know Rukia, but you know I'm a slow-reader so ..."

Her friend smiled at this. "Oh I know...it's quite all right, did you heard of the latest news?"

Latest news? The young woman have been too busy lately to allow herself to get information on the later news, she simply hoped it didn't had something to do with a male priest getting caught in the woman's dorms.

"Apparently, Father Kurosaki and his men succeeded in catching a living demon!"

The word "Demon" immediately made Orihime's eye widen in surprise. Catching a living demon? Kurosaki Ichigo could do such a thing and still be breathing today? He was even more magnificent to Orihime's eye as she was already thinking he was. The exploit he did in the latest weeks were heard around the place, giving the place to many recognitions or jealousy from his fellow priest.

"A...a demon?"

"Yes a demon! Can you believe it? It was a direct order from the pope, saying he needed to capture one to reinforce the power the clergy had, mostly politically wise but we all know that demon can do so many things! Did you knew that they can made one of your wish come true if you gave them something in return? "Rukia couldn't stop herself from being enthusiastic about the matter. Even if demon weren't much liked from them, the rumours about their "wish-making" were quite known around the clergy. Orihime, however, didn't seem as eager to see this "specimen" as everyone seemed to be.

"I don't think that anyone's going to be allowed to see it if it's for the pope..."

"Meh..., we shall see! You could wish that you and father Kurosaki never made your priest's vow and get together." She blinked one eye rapidly at her last sentence, grinning seductively to emphasis her point.

"What? ! ! ?" The ginger completely forgot for a moment that she was in a classroom, where every single people present heard her quite clearly, including the teacher. The day was starting quite badly for her.

"...Having an interesting conversation over there, Miss Inoue?"

A hesitant and embarrassed chuckle was her only answer.

...

The two young women escaped the classroom after a pretty long speech about responsibility and autonomy, something that could have bored the most studious nun. It didn't take them long before they arrived at the cafeteria, their shield against the teacher's authority and priest's severity.

"Phew...I thought she'll never shut up...but anyway, everybody knows you have quite the eye for father Kurosaki..." Rukia added another wink to her statement.

"Rukia! Keep your voice down, please!" Orihime whispered as she walks down the alley between the tables, looking around if anybody heard them.

"It's not like it's anything new, beside, he's quite popular, especially since his last successful assignment."

The other young woman could only blush harder at her black-haired friend. Sure, she knew sisters like her couldn't possibly ever have relationship of any kind, due to their vows, but it seemed like most of the nun enjoyed talking about it, or taunt her for that matter. She didn't like that we would use her "admiration" to label it as something completely forbidden within the clergy's wall.

"You know that our love have to be toward god and no one else's..."the young sister couldn't help herself from blushing while she whispered the sentence.

"Do not worry sister orihime, I'm only playing with you."

Rukia was smiling warmly at her, the reaction orihime have sometimes are priceless, she tend to be way too serious about something that is supposed to be taken as a joke.

Orihime was about to speak when a far away shout was directed at them. "HEY!Sister Rukia! Sister Orihime!"

Another black-haired woman joined them in a hurry, her breathing loud and coming out in quick puff.

"Tatsuki?" Orihime exclaimed, surprised to see her best friend at the cafeteria when she was supposedly at the chorals by now.

"Glad I finally found you two! You have to come to the main hall! Grand Cardinal Yamamoto is calling everyone for a resume of the successful mission of Father Kurosaki!"


	3. Chapter 2: the 7th vigilio :murcielago

**Another chapter! 3 hope you enjoy it! , it hasn't been beta-readed yet so no critique on my poor english skills ( i'm french) 3 thank you!**

It didn't took long for Orihime and Rukia to arrived at the grand hall which got well his name, considering it was gigantic and that every step they took echoed loudly through it. The Hall was filled to the maximum of its capacity, nun, priest, monk, everyone was there. Most of the people gathered were standing up in the main alley when others were sitting on the balcony where the organ was. A dreadful silence was ruling the place, making their steps even louder as the approached the group.

Situated higher on another balcony, an old –looking man stood, his back crouched, his long white beard almost touching the floor while his eyes scanned the grand room with this weakened eyes. He didn't very much liked loud noise, and the other priest and nun knew it very well. Everyone was standing silently, looking at him with a kind of respect that fitted only him while Orihime and her friend simply approached silently, enough to hear him speak.

"Everyone..."

At the sound of his voice, every single person present straightened their back and gave their full attention to the old man standing before them, this kind of result and mostly respect was given by a strict education on proper manner of conduct.

"As you have all already heard, our most loyal and devoted priest, Kurosaki Ichigo, succeed marvellously on the mission bestowed upon him. The goal of the mission was to capture a specific kind of demon for its Excellency, the pope."

At those words, everyone gasped silently; apparently some of them remained on the unknown or wouldn't believe the actual rumour.

"Those kinds of demons are called "Vigilio" or "The watchers", they usually remain passive, but they can be of extreme aggressiveness should their "goal" be threatened..."

It was with wonders that everyone listened and drank every single one of the man's word. He held so much knowledge on something that they thought didn't exist, or at least...couldn't be seen.

"I know many of you are eager to see the result of all the effort of Father Kurosaki, but I will ask of you to not approach the catacomb of this cathedral, where the demon is held captive, until his transportation to his Excellency. We do not know what power it may hold or what atrocity can it commit. "

All the priest and nun let out a slight sight of disappointment, but being the Cardinal's order, they couldn't stand against it without being excommunicated.

"Please understand that this is said for the safety of this establishment, now I will allow Father Kurosaki to tell us a word about the mission."

As he stands aside, another person took his place, dressed all in black and with flaming orange hair. He looked around his mid-twenties, having deep but strict eyes as he looked at everyone in the room. Orihime's heart jumped slightly at his sight. The stained-glass windows at each side of him gave the main priest an ethereal look as if the divine light was shining upon him. Secretly, she always admired Ichigo Kurosaki, he knew how to be joyful yet serious, relaxed yet determined and there wasn't anything about him that could be considered a default in her eyes.

" I am pleases to see you all again, as Cardinal Yamamoto said, I shall give you a small resume of the mission...but it will mostly be to teach you a little life lesson." He slowly putted his hand on the border of the wooden balcony as he said so.

"The rain was pouring so hard as we entered the abandoned temple...it was as if the sky was giving the demon's a proper purification...everyone shuddered as they entered the place...the atmosphere was suffocating, it was the same feeling when you drown, the water rushing in your lung, the inability to breath fresh air, but at that moment, we couldn't die...the air was still there..."

Everyone was captivated by the men's word, they were listening to the story like they were all child listening to a bed-time story.

"When we finally arrive at the room where the demon supposedly was, there was nothing...the deception could all be seen on everyone's face...but as we were prepared to leave, One of the men said that something moved in the room adjacent to the one we were in."

The movement he did with his hand was only amplifying the overall feeling coming from his story.

"So without an instant to loose, we headed straight to this room...the surprise we had... (he added a small chuckle to emphasis his point) the demon was there, unmoving, simply watching us, completely immobile...he didn't even tried to escape, I could tell he knew why we were there..."

Ichigo let out a sigh before continuing, as if the memory was painful to remember.

"...one of our men, without given order, actually raise his gun at it. It was such a fatal mistake since the demon actually disappeared from our sight to rip off the bowels of the gunner, thus killing him instantly."

Look of horror could be seen on people's face as he continued.

" The fang and claws of the creature took seconds in ripping off the head or members of 7 of our men...it didn't stopped until I actually went activated the high-frequency sound machine, a tool given to me by the pope, saying it's the key to capturing it. Truly, the machine was a wonder, the sound it emitted was barely heard by us, but the demon was clenching in pain the instant it was activated, thus allowing us to set up the trapping box and capture it."

Orihime was almost scared just imagining the scene of a bloody creature ripping bowel's off of the priest's body. Kurosaki had to keep himself calm and collected before this massacre to allow the plan to work correctly, another trait she wish she had.

"So...to get to the life lesson part, don't raise your gun at something you don't know. "

A shared laugh could be heard from all around the grand hall, slowly quieting down.

" hehehe...but to be serious, a lesson I learned there was to keep your calm, and do as you are told...I will never say it enough...like the voice of god that guide us through the darkness, you have to listen to other that want your protection."

Small nod and sound of agreement were heard before Cardinal Yamamoto walked up next to Ichigo.

" Beautiful speech, Father Kurosaki, now all of you, you may all return to your quarters, we shall meet again tomorrow for the transportation of the demon, I expect all of you to be up at 6:00 am."

All the priests and nuns expressed their agreement with a small bow as they all dispersed toward their respective quarters. Orihime kept herself still for a few more minutes, allowing herself to watch Ichigo Kurosaki as he leaved his balcony. She knew well that such feelings toward him were forbidden and should be kept hidden, but she couldn't stop thinking of how life could be if she wasn't a nun, if he wasn't a priest. Yes the nuns of this place took her in when she was abandoned from her parents at a young age, left alone under the pouring rain, and the only being family she have left was her brother, who today had gone for a delivery of holy oil to a small church, she knew she should be grateful to this place and not doubt her presence in it. Thought inside of her, she wishes life could have been different.

Rukia took her out of her small world as she guided her through the hallway, speaking about new robes they were making and how they should add more color to it.

Later that night, around 8:00pm Orihime was sitting in her quarter's bed, looking at the moon with a quite melancholic look. Her soft sight only adding more to the evidence she was uneasy and without reasons, worried. The soft glow the moon was emitting was somewhat calming her.

Her hand slowly found the lamp on the adjacent table next to her bed, and soon after the book that was hidden under her bible in the shelf of it. The cover was torn at some place, burned at other and mostly worn out. In barely visible gold letters, we could read _"The 7th Vigilio, Murcielago de las noches." _, the book has been given to her by her brother, every night , he used to read some part of the book, like a bedtime story, lately he couldn't do so and thus she begun to read it on her own. Such book was forbidden by the clergy, but since it was such an important memento to her, she decided to keep it and she had to admit it was pretty interesting. The red-headed young woman slowly opened the old book, whispering silently to herself.

"Now at which page was I?" She flipped the page, until she fall on a page where we see a picture of a black winged form in front of a person, doing an exchange of some sort. Underneath it we could read _"the pact of intertwined wish."_

"Ah...There I was."

She lied down on her bed as she began her lecture.

"In very rare occasion, Murcielago can accept, in exchange of someone's soul, to make a wish the person ask for come true. Even thought much debate has been given on the matter, and much wish can't be accepted depending on the demon's mood, the veracity of such a speculation can't be proven until further information is given. So far only a theory of Father Mayuri of the department of demonology and Satanist has been supporting this theory. The idea alone of wish-making has brought many people toward their dead, since this Vigilio is highly difficult to find, and mostly to convince...Some speculate that- "

Her lecture was abruptly cut short as another nun rushed into Orihime's room, her breathing loud and fast, looking exhausted.

"Orihime...*huff huff*...You absolutely have to come with me..."

The young woman in question moved her eyebrow in confusion "Is something the matter?"

"It's about your brother"

Her eyes slowly widened in horror at what could be wrong with her dear brother. Her feet immediately found themselves running along with the nun toward her brother's location.

What she saw when she arrived, was something that would be engraved into her memory forever; He was lying down on a white bed, the sheet stained with sweats, as he was breathing harshly. Other priests were present, holding their bible tightly as a worried look was painted all across their faces.

"W...what is happening to him?" she shouldn't stop her lower lips from trembling slightly. One of the priests answered quickly yet hesitantly.

" A farmer found him on his way on the road, he had the gentleness to bring him here...Apparently he was unconscious all the way, we made all the test possible, but his fever is above 106 Fahrenheit degree...the medical department suggest a bacteria in the brain..." he was even more hesitant to tell the rest.

"If this keeps up, he won't live to see the next sunrise..."

Orihime's world crumble apart at the last sentence, the only relative left would be dying? So simply? Without given reasons, without explanation...without a goodbye?

Her eyes tear up slowly before they streamed down her face, walking slowly toward her brother, she watched as he fidgeted in convulsion, his eyes rolling backward and his breathing erratic. Nothing coherent was coming out of his lips.

"B...Brother..."

The other people present could only lower their head in silent apologize toward their uselessness.

"You can't leave...You can't leave me alone...*hiccup*...Why...why...?"

Her loud sob could soon be heard as her arms clenched her brother's arms, which was still convulsing and moving uncontrollably. Her head lied on the border of the bed, the tears soon drenching the sheets. She couldn't believe it would all end here, the supportive word he would always tell her, the good food he would always bring back from the city, that book he would always read to her at night.

That book...

Murcielago can accept, in exchange of someone's soul, to make a wish the person ask for come true.

A wish...a wish...

Was it worth the try? Would it kill her? Would it accept? Would it refuse? Was it even true?...she couldn't tell...

But before she had the time to ponder on the thought, her feet carried her faster than she even thought possible through the cathedral, her nightgown moving with the wind created by her running, and her bare feet echoing on the marble floor. Orihime soon found herself in front of the door leading to the catacomb. She was still doubtful of the reasons that leaded her here, maybe all this was pure fantasy and the only thing she'll find behind the door would be death, but considering her brother was currently dying , it was better to try than do nothing and watch him die.

It was with a hesitant hand that she slowly pushed on the stone door, causing it to grind loudly. A soft cold wind escaped through it. The scent of death was carried through it, death and blood.

"Here...*hiccup* g..goes nothing.."

She slowly and hesitantly entered the dark room...the only source of light was the small candle placed at the very end of the room, from which a figure appeared but Orihime couldn't figure out the shape or what it was. A very soft breathing was heard as she approached; it was calm and almost sounded asleep.

When she was close enough, and her eyes got used to the low amount of light the room has, she finally figure out the shape... what she saw before her eyes was also one of those moments she would never forget.

A black haired man was chained from the wrist and hanging with his head low causing his dark bangs to cover his face, thought it couldn't hide the fact his eyes were blinded with bandages. Black fur covered most of his forearms and half of his upper arms; it also went from the very tips of his feet to his waist. His complexion was almost white, thought with only the candle illuminating it, it appeared mostly yellowish. Just under the bandages of his eyes, she could figure out two big black tear tracks descending from his eyes to his chin. His mouth was also covered in bandages, and she could barely see that his feet were chained together.

Two giant black wings suddenly moved very slightly, barely visible in the blackness of the room, causing Orihime to jump slightly. She was now sure the demon was about to kill her, thought she couldn't denied that she didn't expected the demon to be human like...

The two wings returned to their initials positions before Orihime slowly got on her knees in front of the demon, joining hands and praying to god that this wouldn't be the time she'll also never see again the sunrise.

"7th vigilio...Murcielago de las noches...I...I appear before you to ask you to help me... I ask for your help because my dear brother will die soon if...l...left un...untreated..." Orihime couldn't stop her voice from quivering in fear; here she was speaking to a demon...

"I know you have no reasons to help me, my group captured you...stole your dignity, and trapped you here...but..." The tears were leaving tracks again down her face as she spoke.

"I am ready to give anything for him to be saved, I simply need your help...I...I...*hiccup*...my soul shall be yours if you accept to help me."

The movement of the candle before her stole her attention, they were moving abnormally, growing stronger than weakening, when she looked up at the demon's face, she could see the bandages covering his mouth seemed to have been cut down neatly.

"My name is Ulquiorra, woman..."


	4. Chapter 3: The contract's root

**Author note: my apologies if the chapter are so short, i just have lots of exam because of college's end of session and stuff : / so free time is RARE , but i hope you enjoy the newest chapter anyway! And thanks a lot of the review! they make my heart siiinnnnggg and it's so motivating for me ! thank you very much!**

**Little message to annonesque: the first car was invented in 1769, thought it was a prototype, in 1801 another prototype was made but i do not know if it was of actual use, so i decided to say in the story that car ( thought more like cart then car.) existed at the time ^^  
**

His deep yet melodious voice echoed deeply into the very core of her soul, it was like the vibration his voice made on her eardrums was affecting her whole body, making her unable to move or reply back for that matter. As her eyes wandered across his now apparent lips, she discovered that the upper one was black in color, while the lower remained the color the rest of his skin was, impossibly pale.

"And for your information, I am the 4th Vigilio... not the seventh...I do not know where you received that falsified information, but I can assure you it needs revision..." The slight arrogance filling his voice made her even less willing to move from her spot, as if a single movement would cause his annoyance and thus...her death.

"It would be such an insult to be compared to that disgusting and unmannered Viligio..."

As he said so, the bandages covering his eyes were strangely cut down by an almost invisible green needle. The young woman gasped loudly as his eyes finally opened after being freed from their apparently unpleasant binding. The sclera of his eyes were of a dark green while the iris was shining it's yellowish color , the flames of the candles' room was reflecting quite nicely into them, giving his eyes an even more ethereal look. It was as if those very own flames were dancing in his eyes like two bright suns looking at her. His pupils were slit; close in appearance to the ones of a cat, and looking at her with slight annoyance before it turned to a barely seen surprise. He remained silent as his eyes examined her feature; his pupils were dilating and retracting as he inspected the young nun before him. She had to admit that his actual appearance was far from being what her mind thought on how a demon would look; actually it was quite the opposite.

She expected a demon to be scary, ugly, repulsing and absolutely terrifying...

Never has she expected to see something that could be called, even if she didn't want to think too much about it: beautiful. Maybe it was why she was so fascinated at reading book related to demons, there was so much contradiction relating to them.

Deep down, she find herself being less scared of the being before her, even if those giants wings and fangs could so easily tear her apart, as if she was made of gelatine. It took him some more minutes before actually speaking with a less annoyed tone.

"A nun... "

It was as if that very fact in itself was ridiculous.

"...I have to say I find myself slightly curious at the reasons a nun would demand such a thing from me..."

Orihime remained silent for a moment before her shaky voice actually escaped past her lips.

"...I...My brother is all I have left..."

He couldn't really comprehend how that could be a reasons for her, but looking at her, seeing in the very core of her soul the loneliness filling ever corner, he was forced to admit that she wouldn't take another loss...her soul wouldn't.

"...The contract's requirement shall go like this: since the wish you made isn't done toward yourself, I must wait for your brother to die in any other death than the one he is currently close to. I must warn you that I am not held responsible if anything happen after this contract."

She carefully listened to his every word, she knew better than not listen to a contract's explanation.

"If for example, your brother was to die tomorrow of a car accident/a homicide or any other death not being his current disease, your contract will close anyway and your soul shall be taken, do you understand and agree to those terms?"

She didn't thought twice before nodding with determination.

"...Understood...now you will need to walk closer to me."

She couldn't stop herself from being hesitant at walking closer, her steps on the ground-level altar, covered with candles and holy water bottles, were hesitant and slow. His eyes remained fixated on her as she approaches him; it was like he was calculating something concerning his future action.

"Now kneel..."

Orihime didn't liked at all how where this was going, her kneeling in front of a demon, his wings expanded, almost surrounding her like a cage would, imprisoning her .

"Orihime Inoue, on November 27th 1802, me, Ulquiorra Cifer, activate a soul-transfer contract..."

As he finished pronouncing his last word, his torso moved slightly upward before the demon's head plunged in the junction between her shoulder and head, his fangs digging into her neck. While it allowed the dark red liquid to pour outside the wound, the young nun had to held back a scream when the pain coursed through her body, she was almost sure that the bat-looking demon was about to kill her, having only used her from the very beginning to get what he wanted. She felt drained and numb, as if those very fangs were absorbing her life in itself. Orihime's vision was slowly becoming blurrier by the seconds, long it didn't took before the lighting of the candle and the stone's wall of the church were replaced by complete darkness.

Thought she didn't knew if she actually saw two suns shining down on her while the sound of chains being torn apart was heard.

The pain was winning over her consciousness.

*** 8*8*8*8*8*8***

When her eyes fluttered open and letting aggressive rays of sun into her eyes, soft groans emitted from her throat while her hands slowly rub her eyes. When the nun's focus returned to normal, she could see she was in her room; everything was exactly the same, the bird chipping on a branch outside the window, the soft curtain moving with the wind. When her mind actually set itself back into place, she immediately jumped into a sitting position, slightly panicked and remembering the event of last night pretty clearly.

"...what...how...how did I get here?"

Maybe yesterday was all a dream? That none of this happened and her brother was all fine and she just slept while reading her book? Speaking of the book, she moved her head slightly to the side, the book was still half-way opened on her bed-desk, the positions it was in before she rushed to her brother last night.

Before the young nun could think about it further, the sound of soft step against a carpet could be heard outside in the corridor leading to her room. The door opened quite rashly seconds afterward.

"Orihime? Are you awake?"

Those so familiar brown hairs and serene voice could only belong to one person, her brother Sora.

"B...brother?"

Now she couldn't refute anymore the fact she maybe dreamed all that happened yesterday, her brother was all okay, she was all okay and apparently nothing had changed. Tears flowed through her eyes before she rushed out of bed to wrap her arms around his neck, a reaction she usually had after having a pretty bad nightmare.

"Sora! I ...I had such a bad nightmare, I dreamed you were so sick and that you...*hiccup*Y...You would die! I never want to eat sweet before going to sleep, you so many times warned me*hiccup* but now I'll be sure to listen, I was so ...so sad..!" She had such a hard time talking because of emotion overwhelming her.

The young nun's brother remained still for a moment, apparently perplexed by her answer before he hides it all behind a smile.

"But I was sick, Orihime! But now I am all fine! I never felt this good in years! The doctor said I would be done for, but I shown them I was stronger than they thought I was. My apologies if I gave you unnecessary worries but now I'm feeling as good as new!"

Now all thought left her head for mere seconds, before it rush back in to make her analyse the situation, if he indeed was sick but now he was all okay again...

This could only mean one thing...

The demon did his job.


	5. Chapter 4 : Binded soul

**ENJOY! my apologies for any grammatical error or any mistake in general, english isn't my first language and it hasn't been beta-read yet**

**EDIT: i just found out that while posting this story , o_O some words disappeared , so it gave way to many confusions ^^; my apologies! apparently the . must not touch any word or it's deleted :  
**

The way Orihime looked at her meal, a face mixed with confusion, worry and fear, told very easily that she didn't knew what to think about the current situation at all. Even the mashed potatoes in her plate seemed to look at her with an expression that enhances her culpability.  
Her brother had actually gone to see the grand cardinal to tell him about what he went through. Nobody could tell what really happened that night, and she was glad they didn't. What would they have thought of her if it was the case? Trading her soul to a demon of all things...  
What lingered on her mind as she put a pieces of carrots in her mouth was : how could he actually heal her brother without him having to move a finger; it made no sense to her but as she thought further about it, he was a demon after all.

Ulquiorra...  
That was a name she didn't read anywhere in any book, one she never even heard in her entire life. She had to admit it quite fitted him...  
She studied Spanish in her language class and if she tried to make a small etymology of his name...

El que llorar... "He who cries..."

it definitely suited him, with his black tear's mark running down his face, as if he was eternally crying...

In front of her, Tatsuki could only watch with pure confusion as her best friend just sat there, looking at her plate with empty eyes. Her brother was healed and well again, she should be happy, and yet it was as if she was lost, confused and sad.

«Are you all right, Orihime? You look as if you committed a murder yesterday and tried to hide the corpse..."

The young nun raised her head immediately at that, looking way too suspicious in the eyes of her friend.

«Oh!...nononono Tatsuki, I'm sorry , I just remembered that I forgot the assignment I had to do yesterday night that is due for today...I hope Lisa won't kill me... or I'll be the corpse" The red-haired woman laugh nervously at this, her hand rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.  
It wasn't a lie in a way...but it didn't convince her black-haired best friend.

" him...I guess I could do it for you since you helped me last time with the Spanish assignment."

" oh really Tatsuki? That would be so nice of you!I offer you a pudding at the cafeteria in exchange!" her enthusiasm at not being scolded by the teacher was worth a million puddings, it made the Nun smiled warmly.

" all right then, that's a deal"

Deal...the word alone made her think back on that" contract" she held with the demon, what would happen when her brother would die? Well if she was old by then, it would kind of being expected.  
She tried to not let it show on her face the worries she held at thinking about everything that happened last night.

The nun was about to let another spoonful of mashed potatoes enter her mouth when a male priest entered the cafeteria as if he had seen a murder before his very eye.

«FATHER KUROSAKI! FATHER KUROSAKI!" He apparently was searching for the said person.

Tatsuki immediately rose up to run to the guy, apparently something was wrong.

«What is the matter, Father keigo? Kurosaki isn't here; he is on a meeting with Cardinal Yamamoto."

The young priest looked absolutely panicked as he took long breath of air and started speaking again.

" It's ...it's the demon, I was in charge of spraying holy water on him this morning, but when i entered the catacomb...he...he.." His hand was shaking as he tried to pronounce his next word.

"...he WASN'T THERE!"

Every single person who was in the cafeteria gasped in unison, Orihime included. The demon freed himself from its confinement, which mean, he was in the church, roaming around and probably killing people. Everybody started to panic as they left their food and start running around and not knowing what to do.  
Tatsuki could only stand there, trying her best to stay composed and thinking about a solution.

"We must tell Cardinal Yamamoto right away." At that, she immediately started running outside the cafeteria in the corridor of the Cathedral.

Orihime could feel herself wanting to disappear, what if it was because of her? Was it the fact she opened the door to the catacomb? Was it because she made that contract? The guilt and regret filled every fibber of her being as she tried to walk normally outside the cafeteria. Where was the Demon now? Was it mercilessly killing people and feeding on nun and priest alike? If it could kill so many skilled priests that accompanied Father Kurosaki, she could only begin to imagine what could happen to untrained and new ones. Her feet slowly leaded her into the corridor allowing her to get a glance of the conference's room door,  
In front of it stood Father Kurosaki, Cardinal Yamamoto, Tatsuki and father Keigo. They seemed to be in a deep discussion; especially with the expressions they all worn on their face. They weren't happy, not at all.

_Maybe this is my entire fault..._

She shouldn't ...no she couldn't talk to them. She would betray herself. Just as Tatsuki spotted Orihime in the corridor, the young nun allowed herself to run as fast as she could,

" uh...o...Orihime!"

Her feet wouldn't stop, it was running, running through the hallway, running through the library, running as far as everybody as she could, she knew where she could be alone, at least to some extent. Some nurse, priest and nun alike looked back at her when she would cross them, all wondering why she was running and still ignorant of the news that gave birth at the cafeteria.  
The guilt and regret was too much to bear as she burst open the door to her dorm and soon after to her room. She was glad she didn't came across anyone in the dorms especially Rukia, who would have immediately asked her question on why her eyes were almost on the brink of tears.

Some minute passed, when her eyes got used to the darkness of her own room...she finally let go of the pressure as the tears leaved two small trails down her face. She felt as if she betrayed everyone. What has she been thinking? If anyone was killed, she knew she would never forgive herself.

Especially if it was Father Kurosaki.

Orihime you really made a big big mistake...what will you do if they find out? What will you tell them?

As the memory of what happened last night came rushing back to her, she slowly walked to her bed, letting all her weight fall on it like she would be a dead body.

_Brother, I did this for you, i hope you'll be able to forgive me for doing such a thing...you would have probably told me to let you die instead of making this contract..._

Her arms slowly took hold of the pillow before her hand tightened their holds, to the point where it was painful. It didn't take long for her to realise something...

The temperature of the room dropped several degrees since she came in.

It wasn't before she actually started shivering that a voice behind her startled her beyond end.

«Feeling regrets over the whole matter isn't what is going to save you...or change anything."

That cold yet deep voice...

Her head slowly turned to him, the object of everyone's attention since the last hours, Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Vigilio. There he was, standing before her, his bandages and straps gone, both of his eyes looking at her with a mix of irritation and slight disinterest.  
His clawed feet made a slight scratching sound as he walked slowly toward her, right next to the bed. She stayed completely still, only allowing herself to turn to lie on her back. The why of his presence here being completely unknown to her, she dared to try asking.

«W...What are you doing here?"

Her answer seemed to slightly surprise him, even if his facial expression didn't change in the slightest.

"I thought, after witnessing your slight knowledge on my person that you would know what the purpose of a Vigilio is."

She probably forgot to read that chapter of the book...It's true that she was reading the book backward, thinking it was more interesting that way.

"A vigilio's purpose comes from its only goal, to watch. It knows nothing else nor will it try to reach for anything else. We are meant to watch, judge and send the information to our Master." His tail slowly moved from left to right as he said so.

Somehow the answer surprised her, if he was meant for that only goal...

«So you aren't here to kill me or kill anybody?"

The way he raised one of his eyebrow at her made her feel slightly stupid for even asking the question, even thought it was not as if she could KNOW for what purpose he was here.

" When a demon make a contract, a contract of this kind, his soul and the one of his contractor, bind together to form one entirely, it make the absorption easier when the said contract end."

She didn't liked where this was going at all.

«...But it also means that should your demise happen before the one of your relative, it would immediately end up in me dying as well."

The young nun could only stare in complete disbelief at the tenebrous demon standing before her.

"...so...t...this mean ..."

" this mean my vigilio's capacity of "watching" will be used for its most basic term, watch over you so that my demise doesn't come anytime soon."

"B...but how...I...I mean ...everybody saw you were gone, you can't be anywhere in this church without them noticing, even now I bet most of the priest are searching for you." Why did it sounded like she was defending him?

«You are underestimating my capacity, woman. If those human's capacity consisted of the way they entrapped me in the catacomb of this cathedral, i have nothing to fear of their feeble soul."

" H..how did you escaped from there?..." The air was getting colder, almost to the point she wanted to grab the bed sheet to cover herself with it.

"Like I said you shouldn't underestimate my powers...I could have escaped the very mere minute I was put here, but considering the situation, it was the only way to observe the enemy's camp from inside..." As the sentence was said, ulquiorra's eye slightly moved toward the door, apparently attentive to his surroundings.

The young nun's head was filled with question and a worry, one question was let out to lower its weight.

«Why did you accept to make this contract then?"

Before any response could be given, ulquiorra immediately vanished, followed by a very loud opening of a door, where Tatsuki entered the room in a hurry.

" Orihime! ?God don't frighten me like that, why did you escaped like this? You shouldn't be alone when a demon is lurking around!"

The red-haired woman could only laugh nervously while her heart was still beating impossibly fast. What will life be from now on?

**Review are really appreciated! 3 thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5 : The unanswered questions

**Another chapter! phew! FINALLY! hope you enjoy it , i had some difficulty writting it for some unknown reasons...**

**Also , Whispering-Mink is WAY too busy lately ( I understand how college can be so time-consuming..) , so if anyone want to propose for Beta-reading , tell me via personal messages or Note via my Deviantart account, Thank you! **

**EDIT : NaPth on DA beta-readed this chapter , so enjoy it even more! 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Thank you so much for the wonderful job **

**And to you all for the wonderful review! they touch my heart! 3  
**

As she followed Tatsuki's footsteps, Orihime could only be lost in her own thoughts. After all that happened, after seeing those sun-like eyes of his, her mind wandered into abyss she never knew she would. He said subtly to her that his job was to protect her until the end of their contract; the idea alone was kind of ridiculous. It wasn't like he actually cared, he was only assuring his survival, but she couldn't stop thinking that the whole ordeal was so troublesome that the young woman couldn't really understand the motive that made him accept such a complex deal. She never would have known that demons could actually protect a being. From what she heard, demon were made to kill, slaughter, impale, threaten, impose, destroy and abuse, not anything close to what the 4th Vigilio was actually doing.

Where was he now? Was he watching her? If so …how?

The young nun looked around, expecting to see a pair of green and yellow eyes looking at her from the ceiling or from outside the window, though she rapidly discovered the stupidity of such an expectation. Priests, Archbishops, monks and nuns alike were running around the place searching everywhere for him. The pope would be highly displeased if the disappearance of the demon was known, and they all knew. The cathedral was in a state of panic, the pressure accumulating between its walls could almost be cut with a knife, making Orihime even more tense than she already was, considering she was partially to blame for the creature's disappearance. Her footsteps echoed loudly as the two young nuns made their way to the Grand Hall, she knew he wouldn't show up anytime soon if he cared, even just a little, about his well-being.

"Cardinal Yamamoto wants to make another announcement?" Orihime's worry-filled voice didn't go by unnoticed by Tatsuki.

"He said that the situation must not lead to panic and 'actions will be taken'… but just between you and me, they must be shitting in their pants as well."

Her friend's harsh language was also a sign that things weren't going too well, after so many years spent in her company, Orihime knew that whenever Tatsuki's language started to become less polite, there was trouble lurking around.

As both of them approached the door leading to the grand hall, Orihime noticed a certain patch of orange hair that caused her heart to accelerate its rhythm.

"OH! Father Kurosaki!" Tatsuki's voice made the high-ranked priest turn his head to look at them, apparently prepared to enter the grand hall as well.

"Oh Arisawa, Inoue, hi!"

For the bright orange-haired nun, how he talked and the way he smiled just added to the pile of things that said they were in for a long struggle.

"Will you be assisting grand cardinal Yamamoto with his speech?"

"Yes, I will. I will speak of what exactly is happening and the precautions taken to deal with this situation. But even so," he paused "this leaves me with a bad feeling."

"Why's that, father Kurosaki?"

"It's just… how could he have escaped? We made all the arrangements so that nothing could get out of that room. But if someone penetrated without telling anyone of the clergy, then that is a completely different matter. If a Vigilio should smell the scent of any human, it may give him enough particles of spiritual pressure to break free."

Orihime's heart skipped a beat at this. So it was because she opened the door that the demon could actually escaped? As much as she trusted Kurosaki Ichigo's words, she couldn't prevent herself from thinking that the demon would have escaped, door open or not, considering what he said to her last night.

Her hands fidgeted, her fingers curling and uncurling around each other, trying in vain to hide her nervousness. She didn't like how she had to hide all that happened to someone she admired, someone that was her ideal. Orihime knew well she did all this with good intention, but a part of her couldn't stop throwing a rock at its own body from her stupidity. Her brother was someone so dear to her, she knew that, and she didn't totally regretted what happened, it was simply a question of betrayal and how she could have thought of some other solutions before doing something this drastic.

"Is something the matter, Orihime? You don't look too well." Ichigo's voice shot her out of her own thoughts . Blinking she looked up at him with a shy smile while her hands got behind her back, still fidgeting with one another.

"Oh! I'm quite all right , I just have so many things to think about , c…considering the actual situation." She had a hard time not stuttering while speaking.

He laughed softly at her nervous gesture, apparently not blind to the fact she was uncomfortable around someone who was ranked higher than her.

"I can understand that. Tatsuki, be sure to take care of her, hm?"

The nun replied with a determinative nod followed by the sound of approval, the priest knew those two were inseparable. Ichigo slowly turned on his heels before he opened the door to the grand hall, leaving the two young woman alone.

"Hmf! That Ichigo can sometimes be surprising when it come to caring for people." Tatsuki crossed her arms at this before turning her head to Orihime, who seemed to find a profound interest on the floor.

"Y…yeah he does. Father Kurosaki is always so thoughtful of everyone's needs." Her cheek changed to a rosy color as she spoke, still remembering his warms eyes looking at her. His lips held a soft peachy color while his orange hair seemed to hold a strange glow.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking that way, she was a nun - anything close to desiring something that didn't have to do with God was forbidden. Orihime knew she had to suppress those thoughts from her mind.

Her eyes then turned slightly toward the stained glass window. She could have sworn she saw a shadow move from one side to the other.

"Well, let's go in!" Tatsuki motioned for the young nun to follow her, opening the door slightly again as they both step in.

Cardinal Yamamoto was on his usual stand, a long white carpet covering it. The way he held the hotel turned his knuckle slightly white and how his look kept itself on the floor wasn't a good sign, not at all. Every member of the clergy knew Yamamoto was a proud man, his back was usually rigid, his eyes straight ahead and his expression confident. Seeing such a man crouching his back, looking at the ground in defeat while his face expressed slight panic was making all priest and nun alike worried, extremely worried. They tried to calm themselves by holding onto their silver cross, praying that somehow everything would be all right. After so many years of loyal duty to God, it was the least they could ask for. After the Cardinal raised his hand to announce the beginning of his speech, the grand hall became silent immediately.

"Everyone, as you all probably know already, the clergy has been announced a very displeasing news this morning… a news that will require your undivided attention. The Vigilio that was caught yesterday found a way to escape us. Our researcher does not know the cause of such an action from the demon or how he could have done it. I am quite aware this puts us in a touchy situation from which the Pope will be far from pleased. But if there is one good thing that I can announce to you all, it's this: The demon is no longer in the church, or is at least, not willing to harm any of its occupants."

The announcement made everyone throw questions at the Cardinal, most of them consisting of how he was sure of that and how he could know such amount of detail. The wise old man raised his hands again to silence his interlocutors.

"Let me clarify the reasons of such a theory, if the demon had any harmful intention against the clergy, every single one of you here would be severely injured or worse, perhaps dead. A demon's power isn't to be taken lightly. If we have no casualties so far, I can assure you it is a good sign. The demon probably fled back to where it belonged. Being a Vigilio, it would be no surprise if it went back to hell to report on the matter. Those kinds of demons are made for that and not to kill, even if they are more than capable to do so."

The priests and nuns alike all looked at each other in acceptance, more than relieved to hear they could sleep without being afraid something would kill them in their sleeps.

"Although the demon may not be within our boundaries anymore, it is no reason to let your guards down. Who knows if this demon has the intentions of coming back for any assaults? To ensure our protection, I will now let Father Kurosaki explain our defense measures."

When the Old Cardinal turned around, the red-headed Priest walked forward to the hotel, taking on a similar position to his superior.

Orihime and Tatsuki watched with attention as Ichigo took the speech and started to explain a defense consisting of Vigil around the cathedral and reports that will be sent more often to the Pope, who could send help at any moment if needed.

"Do you think everything will be all right?" Tatsuki's whisper made Orihime move her vision from Ichigo to her best friend.

"I can only hope so, I was already scared that something could be under my bed…" her nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her orange-haired head was a good way of hiding the nervousness filling Orihime's heart.

"Don't worry Sister, the cross I gave you will protect you from any demon." The voice behind her startled her a little. As she turned around, she realized that it was her brother, smiling at her confidently.

"Oh! Brother! Are you feeling all right? Everything's fine?" She tried to keep her voice as low as possible to not disturb the speech of Father Kurosaki.

"Yup, all fine! Actually, I've never felt so good since forever. It's like all the fatigue and stress of the last few missions is gone. God probably helped me out there…"

'Or a demon…' Orihime couldn't stop thinking of what he would say if she actually told him what happened and what she did for him… though seeing him smile, enjoying life and being grateful about it made her forget her anxiety for now.

"I'm glad to see you well, Sora. Does that mean you will eat my new Stew I tried in my cooking class?"

It made Tatsuki laugh quietly as she saw Orihime's brother face twist in displeasure and hidden disgust.

"W…well, the doctor told me to take it easy on food for now, so I guess it will be for later, Orihime." He tried to hide his lie under a nice smile and warm eyes. Tatsuki knew well how unique Orihime's food was. It was no wonder her brother didn't want to eat it.

As the speech ended and everyone was sent back to their respective quarters, Orihime decided to stop by the Library, wanting to get some more knowledge on the source of much anxiety lately, the Vigilios. The book her brother gave her had some falsified information it seemed, so she had to make sure the other books she could find on the subject would give her more trustable information.

She opened the old heavy door causing it to grind loudly, the fresh dusty air of the room entered her nostrils. She calmly walked around the shelf, going from category to category, as other nuns searched for their own preferences. She was thankful that the Cathedral wasn't censoring anything concerning demons. The cardinal often said that the more knowledge someone could have about them, the better it is to track them down. She doubted she would find anything positive about them though…

She approached the Demonology category, which was hidden behind many other shelves, and begun her search for any books that might catch her attention. 'How to Exorcise', 'The Mirror and Demons' and '101 Tricks Effectives Against Demons' were titles that came back often, though none of them contained the information she was looking for. Then, the young nun came across a book that had no title. She stared at the book for a moment before she slowly took it out of the shelf. The book was old, dusty, and the cover seemed as if it had been torn and burned in many places. The material resembled leather but she couldn't really tell.

'What a curious book. I never saw one like this before…' she thought to herself.

She carefully opened it, but to her surprise the first page was completely blank, she flipped the pages… all Blank. Not even a page number, nothing.

"What the….?"

"I see that your curiosity about us extend to surprising length."

That voice immediately made her turn around to find the source of it. There he was, standing on his clawed feet, his back resting against a wooden shelf, looking at her with a disinterested look that hid his actual surprise. His tail was only moving slightly, just enough for the dirt on the floor to move with the movement of air the tail caused. His arms were crossed, barely visible due to his wings at either side of his body folded around him. It seemed that the position he took was to better support the weight of his massive wings.

The young nun began to panic when she realized that the demon was standing right next to her while there were many other nuns in the library, though they seemed to be oblivious to his presence. The Vigilio apparently saw her immediate anxiety as he moved slightly to a complete standing position.

"You do not have anything to be worried about, since the contract has been made, the only human able to see me is you as long as I wish for it to be. Act casually like I wouldn't be there…" He motioned with one of his clawed finger to turn around, and act as if she was reading the book like before.

"W…what are you doing here?" She whispered as low as she could, it was a wonder he could hear her.

"I simply wish to expand my knowledge and understanding of a situation. Your actions leaved me perplexed though…"

"And why's that?"

"You are a Nun, you are supposed to despite and hate us, and yet all you do in your free time is research us… about demons, Vigilio, Expandios, succubus , Behemoths. Others use that information to find out how to kill us… but not you. You simply wish to know more about us. Why? I must say I question myself toward your motives and the reasons of such actions."

The questions kind of took Orihime by surprise; it was a question that even she would have a hard time answering. It was true that since she was small, her brother would always tell her stories about them. She was taught in many classes different theories, different methods of killing them and how to exorcise them. She had been around this domain for so long now, yet she still felt as if some things are wrong, some things were hidden…

"You, demons, Vigilios… I just feel that what we know about them might not be as they truly are… I feel as if so many questions are left unanswered and I can't find anything that can satisfy the curiosity I hold towards it."

Interesting answer the demon had to admit. All the priests, monks and nuns he saw in his life were only disgusted by his 'species'. This woman held some truth in her words and it gnawed at his own curiosity.

"I have one question for you, if I may, mr - " she trailed on the last word, implying she wanted to know what was his last name.

"It's Ulquiorra and nothing else, woman, and what is your question?" The way he spoke it might have seemed extremely rude to everyone else, but Orihime had the feeling it was just how he was, she didn't expect any demon to be nice anyway.

" …I have thought about all this, the contract and such," she paused for a moment " and I must say I do not know why you accepted such a deal if it reduces you to such a position."

The Vigilio remained silent for a moment, his eyes moving to the side, watching the other nuns read their book and being concentrated, ignoring everything else around them.

"The price in the end is sufficient enough to tolerate the actual situation."

The price was her soul… She knew that much.

She stopped flipping the blank page of the book for a moment, a pensive look on her face.

"What will you do with that price once everything is over?"

Ulquiorra moved slightly forward, getting closer to the young nun.

"That book you're holding will tell you that…"

"This book? How? All the pages are blank." She turned around to look at him, subtly flipping the pages to show him they indeed were. Though the vision of his upper body completely naked so close to her own was making her really uncomfortable, it was the first time ever she saw a man's chest without clothes on. Except for one time when her brother Sora went swimming with her at the beach. Thank God all the fur covering his lower half was extremely thick. It seemed like clothes on its own.

"Follow me." He motioned with his head to do so, already starting to walk towards the exit of the Library.

She did so without question, curious as to what he wanted to show her, something in the back of her mind told her that maybe she shouldn't trust him like that, but considering his actual job of taking care of her it was highly improbable that he would do anything to hurt her. They walked along the corridors of the Cathedral, passing by many people on the way. It was almost funny how he could walk so casually in the church when everybody was searching for him. When she saw the oh-so-familiar door to the dorms, Orihime knew where he was taking her.  
Her room.

He motioned for Orihime to open the door, to which she understood the reason – a door opening by itself would look extremely weird. They both ascended the stairs that lead to a corridor where the bedrooms were located.  
She couldn't stop looking at his form, his wings moving slightly, his tail swigging from side to side and his clawed feet making a slight scratching sound as they rested on the floor with each step. It was all so new to her, it wasn't everyday that a demon would be walking casually in front of you without any deadly intention.

When they both walked inside her room, he grabbed the book from her hand and walked toward a small table beside the window. After he laid the book on it, he flipped the pages, looking like he knew exactly what page he wanted to show her.

"This was written by one of our kind, long ago, back when the actual relationship between demons and humans wasn't so horrible. It contains much information regarding demons, the reasons for its creation still remain unknown, but I can speculate it was made to fix those relations."

It made Orihime wonder as to why such a book would be found in the Cathedral's Library.

"It is written following this logic; one can read what it understands, since humans reading it could use it toward our disadvantages, the author of this book made it so that only a subject the person can actually comprehend and accept will be shown. Since now, the basic information of a demon isn't something that would actually surprise or confuse you, I will activate chapter 1." One of his finger moved toward the page, the tips of his claw touching the page. Soon after a dark liquid stained the page, as if the claw itself was pouring out liquid and imbibing the page of its color. Orihime was amazed by the process, slowly walking toward Ulquiorra and the book. The letter slowly showed to compose a full written page.

"When another subject you can comprehend and understand can appear, it will do so automatically. Simply verify once in a while." He closed the old book as he spoke, his eyes moving to rest on hers.

"…Why are you doing this?" She couldn't understand why it was any of his concern to actually show her all this.

"Didn't you say before that your curiosity wasn't satisfied and you felt as if some things were wrong concerning what you have been told all your life? Personally I much dislike when I can't have the answers to my questions."

Him being a Vigilio made to watch, she wasn't surprised he would think it as revolting to refuse any occasion to know more concerning anything. Information is something vital for him.

"The information in this book must remain confidential. I am watching you; I can assure you I will know should one word about this escape your lips. It is irrelevant to me if you are willing to accept such knowledge; it is simply an offer for more information. For the rest, it is of no importance for me."

Orihime nodded slowly, accepting to receive answers she didn't know if she would like, but accepting them nonetheless.

"Hide this book well." Another nod from her followed his words.

"Now I must report, you should take this time to go regenerate your inner function; your soul is showing signs of fatigue, both mental and physical." One of his clawed-fingers pointed toward her to emphasize his warning.

By regenerating her inner function, he probably meant to go sleep. It was slightly disturbing that, by sharing her soul, he could know when she was tired. He probably didn't care if she slept or not, but not doing so would weaken him as well, thus leading to his actual recommendation. He wouldn't want to be burdened down because of her carelessness.

"To whom must you report?" the question flew past her lips on its own, curiosity taking over her.

"Our leader, Satan." 


	7. Chapter 6 : Discovery and life purpose

** finally another chapter!**  
**X_X you have no idea how hard that chapter was to write...but in the end, i was quite happy with the result! I had to work my head off into trying to show religions from ulquiorra's point of view...**  
**hope you like it!**

**IF ANYONE WANT TO BETA- READ THIS, you are wholeheartly welcome to do so, just send me the beta-readed text via email or private messages. Thanks! **

The events of last night leaved her quite perplexed as her relaxed body lied on her bed. The old worn out book has been properly hidden since then. Orihime hasn't dared to open it, probably too scared to see something jump out of the object , or having her soul sucked out of her body the instant she would flip the page. All this was slightly scaring her when she thought back on it. The demon was helping her in a certain way. That thought alone was scaring her... Why would he? Sure he said he only wanted her to satisfy her thirst for knowledge, since he could relate with him being a Vigilio but something inside of her gnawed at that hypothesis.

"Everything is starting to get so complicated..."

She could only hope that her brother didn't find out anything about it nor will he ever do so.

The rays of sun illuminated the room with a soft yellow glow, making the atmosphere warmer and more comfortable for her to be in. The night has been sleepless, filled with nightmares of having her soul sucked out and swallowed by that dark haired demon, his long canines digging into the skin of her neck, taking out the soul little by little, while his long clawed finger caressed her body in such ways that made her unable to hold still. His sun-like iris looking at her ,searching inside her for any hint of desire while his throat let out a soft purring noise as more of her soul was sucked out.

Wait, what?

What was she thinking, dreaming of something so ...so ...wrong!

Shaking her head, she got out of bed. Today she will act like nothing happened, like all this was just the fruit of some kind of overactive imagination. Orihime knew well that if anybody had any suspicious on her, it won't take long for them to find out about all that happened. The clergy wasn't the kind to let anything slip by, and if the clergy know, her brother will know.

And what would happen afterward, she rather didn't want to think about it...

Maybe she would be put on a long wooden stick and burned for contracting with a demon, or worse...

Her cold feet touched the ground and started walking toward the door, not minding to even brush her hair as she walked out. The long corridor seemed almost scary even if the sun's light illuminated it in a very beautiful way. She knew that at any times, the demon could be watching her from afar, inspecting her every moves, while the clergy was suspecting everyone and anyone. She felt trapped, imprisoned betweens walls of moralistic issues.

'_I should just act like nothing happened, and lead a normal life, like nothing happened...just forget everything Orihime, just forget.'_

She slowly raised one of her hand to mark her body of Christ's symbol.

'_God give me strength to face today and later days.'_

From afar a figure suddenly entered Orihime's field of visions. His orange hair flashed with the sun's light while his boots made a soft sound as they landed on the carpet with each steps. The young nun immediately reacted to the priest's presence. Father Kurosaki was on sight, and walking toward her! She felt her body tense and its temperature slightly rising as he approached her. It didn't take long for her to realise something that didn't quite pleased her soon afterward.

Rukia Kuchiki was walking alongside him, apparently engaged into a deep conversation with him. Her hand was moving around, apparently trying to explain something with the help of her hands, while Ichigo was agreeing with a movement of his head, his arms crossed and looking quite serious. They looked at Orihime at the same times as both of them were close enough to see her.

"Oh Sister Inoue, you're awake! You didn't come to the artillery classes this morning, were you sick?" the almost worried look of Father Kurosaki was surprisingly pleasant to see, considering he also noticed she was absent this morning.

It was at times like this she wished she could transplant herself a new brain for her to stop forgetting she had classes in the morning today, even if artillery was far from being the subject she appreciated the most. She never was able to hold a weapon without feeling some sort of bad vibes from it. It was scaring her.

"Hum...my apologies, I just forgot to wake up at the due time...I'm pretty tired lately."

Rukia chuckled slightly at her reply.

"It is not new of you, thought I can tell you, you didn't missed anything important, Cardinal Kenpachi was mostly just revising all the emergency procedure, you know, with the current situation with that demon..."

The word "demon" seems to have more effect to her than usual.

"Speaking of which, I was asked by Cardinal Yamamoto to give every nun and priest alike, this." Ichigo took out of his pockets a small glass bottle with a cross sign on it. She clearly knew what it was.

"Abremelin oil?"

He shook his head once, confirming her sayings.

"Yes one of the holy oil, Yamamoto was still suspicious about the demon's intention, so he ordered that every priest and nun receive this to protect themselves should the need arise. This oil is proven to be quite effective against Vigilio."

Somehow Orihime didn't wanted to find out what effect it would have on Ulquiorra, would his skin burn? Would it blast? Would it melt? She couldn't stop thinking that it was kind of unfair for her to hold this around her all the time. Ulquiorra never hurt her once...heck he never was even mean to her. Now that she was thinking about this, why was the clergy so afraid of it? He didn't seem to be this bad for him to be destroyed upon sight.

"Everything's okay Orihime?" Rukia's voice made her head snap out of her thoughts, blinking twice and smiling slightly as she replied.

"Oh yes yes, sorry, I was just thinking back on how to use it should anything happen."

Kurosaki chuckled and hold one of his fingers in the air for a moment.

"It's fairly simple; you throw that bottle at that hideous creature! At least if the oil isn't that effective, it sure will hurt with some glass's shard in the skin."

Orihime, for once, couldn't really agree with the statement that Ulquiorra can be considered something hideous. He could be many things aside that.

"Well Sister Inoue, I'll see you later; I have those bottles of oils to give and if I count all the priest and nun, that will probably take a lot of times, gotta hurry."

The young sister smiled at him and wished him good luck as both Rukia and ichigo walked ahead in the illuminated corridor. She could have joined them, helping Father kurosaki in his task, and thus maybe getting a little more of his attention but somehow, she felt like she didn't belonged, like she would be more of a bother than anything else. Something inside her told her it was useless to cling to something first, forgiven and second, impossible. The young nun never had that much self-esteem in herself, in her capacity but it was worse with anything concerning her current interest in Father Kurosaki. It was like trying to get the attention of a blind man by waving her hands in front of him or trying to grasp something so far away while you can't move forward. All that negativity weighted down on her. Her brother often used to tell her she should throw off those boulders of negative thinking, but she soon found out it was harder said than done.

"Negativity isn't something to throw off if you think about the fact it protect you from deceptions."

So he was already back?

She slowly turned her head to the source of the voice, he was standing there, casual as usual in the sun's light. His dark fur had a nice glowing effect with the luminescence reflecting on it. Ulquiorra's tail was waving back and forth behind him; one of his legs was a little more bend than the other, giving him an almost bored attitude. Her heart forgot for an instant she was the only one to see him, it beaten frantically inside her, scared that, for reasons unknown to her, he would be seen by anyone. Before replying, she carefully checked on each side if anyone was in the corridor. She really didn't liked how she felt like a bandit on the brink of stealing.

"I was told it wasn't good to bring yourself down because you miss all the opportunity in your life..."

"What kind of opportunity I wonder." His clawed feet slowly scratched the carpet as he moved forward; his eyes seemed even more sun-like with the reflective effect caused by the morning sun.

"Well...maybe to improve your talent in something, to have a chance for fame and success..."

His weirdly shaped eyebrow frown a little at her words, apparently unpleasantly surprised at her answer.

"Those are all feeble things, woman. Never meaning to last no matter what you do or how strongly you want it."

Orihime thought about his answers for a while, maybe it is true that nothing was meant to last, that no matter how strongly someone hoped for success/happiness and such, it would slip away no matter what, but the young nun knew that hope was what kept men and woman alive.

"Hope is better than despair, in my opinion."

Now it was his turn to think about her answer for a while. His eyes fixated themselves on the glowing sun outside, his pupils retracting from the sudden assault of light. His facial expression turned from thoughtful to content, thought it was barely visible.

"It has been more than 1700 years since I last had the chance to talk with a human without them throwing torches, forks or weapons at me."

She didn't really minded that he changed the subject, she thought more about how she didn't jumped this time at his presence, like his being was a normal presence in her life now. Who knows how long it would take for her brother to die, she wish it wouldn't be anytime soon , and with that wish , come the decisions of also getting accustomed to this Vigilio's presence. The young nun also wondering why she wasn't feeling as scared as she was at first, she felt quite sad even about Ulquiorra, maybe he was just a misunderstood being only searching for a friend. (Thought somehow if she was to tell him that, he would probably ask what nonsense she is talking about.)

"Did you miss talking to a human?"

His head slowly turned to look at her again, raising one eyebrow before replying.

"It is not a thing of missing, but more a speculation...Us demons aren't really creature that attach ourselves toward anything. Thought for Vigilio we like to share our knowledge if the ears listening to it are willing to."

So demons do not have things like hobby, passions and friends? It's not like she expected them to, but somehow in the back of her mind, living a life without all this seemed almost impossible for her. It was some things human considered normal, yet demons lived without them for who knew how long, she really wondered how they lived their life, curiosity got the best of her.

"How is it to live a life without any feelings, emotions, attachment, passions, hobbies and Friends?"

"You misunderstood me..."

Orihime frown her eyebrow in confusions at his words.

"I didn't say we couldn't feel attachment, I said we weren't that way. Demons are free to experience emotions, but demons never really had the chance to experience them in the first place. Vigilio usually do not bother themselves with what isn't necessary. By "not being that way" I meant that if a Vigilio look at his reasons of living, it does not need emotions or anything of the sort."

"What is your reason of living?"

The young nun's question caught Ulquiorra off guard, his eye widening very slightly as his whole body turned away from her.

"...To observe this world and report back to my master, nothing more. Vigilio are meant for that sole purpose..."

"Wouldn't you want to experience things by yourself? Live for what you want and do things because you want to do them?"

Orihime couldn't help but be saddened by what the 4th Vigilio just said; he was living a life decided by rules and regulations, obeying a master without being able to say anything about it. What were the consequences should he disobey the "master?" . It took Ulquiorra while before he replied, his voice having a lower tone than usual.

"It is preferable that demons do not dwell in such thoughts. After all, in the end, we are always regulated and controlled."

She was confused by his answer to say the least.

"What do you mean? Humans aren't controlled by anyone unless in some exceptions. We chose how we want to live our life." Somehow, even the young sister wasn't sure of her answer.

"Is that so? You will soon come to think otherwise once you see the truth."

The truth? What did he meant by that? Are there some things the world didn't tell her?

"All you see around you is regulated by what you call "god", everything around you, from the smallest of flowers to the bright blue sky, everything is at his mercy. Should he decide to destroy it, he is free to do so. You, humans, bind to his every wills and envies. Controlled by his teachings and messages, you seek an answer to your question from an entity that can't hold the answer you're looking for. Yet...all you do is to continue to live your life searching for that answer, doomed to never find it, yet accepting to be controlled by that said entity. You say you decide how you want to live your life, but every single one of your feelings and envy are given by "god."He controls your emotions as much as your desire. While us demon do not dwells in those, we might be controlled from our body. But our mind shall never be since it is freed of emotions, envy, and beliefs."

She wanted to protest, say that god never was a being of control and egoism, but somehow, her voice was stuck in her throat. She wanted so bad to tell him that God was the only meaning she found in her life, was the only purpose of it, but it would be exactly giving in to what he wanted to show her.

She was controlled.

Her mind told her it was all nonsense, that all he said was nonsense, yet...her heart, the heart that was beating frantically in her chest every time his voice would reach her ears, said the contrary, wanting to prove to her that maybe things weren't as her mind said it was.

Every time she would pray to god, she would hope for some kind of miracles, yet all she usually found was a deadly silence and unanswered wishes, all her life she has been thought that god was the entity of ultimate generosity and goodness, yet, she found strange that, after all the services she had given, and all the prayers and faith she had, not a single prayers was answered.

Until Ulquiorra answered one. A demon.

She was so lost.

"What is god then? What does he want?"

The Vigilio crossed his arms before answering.

"I am not in the proper position to answer this question; the only thing I can say is that he wants what every being of power wants, control and more power. You might not even know this, but Satan and God aren't so different from my point of view."

"How come?"

"Satan wants to control and have more powers to have even more control...God wants the same thing, simply in different ways to reach it, one through blood and terror, one through hopes and dreams. From my points of view, it all comes back to the same thing."

Orihime remained silent for a moment, thinking about all that has been said so far...

"I think...that humans do not want to conceive that god is such a being because they would lose all hopes...They would only dwell in despair...I think that they already knew it, yet they accepted it. They will prefer to live on knowing they are controlled but having the chances to hope for a paradise, instead of living on in pain but being free. Like my brother, he always used to tell me "God is a mean guy, yet it is all worth it in the end because of the afterlife."I used to be scared of god because there was so much to do to be "accepted" but it also taught me how to fill my life and how, each second I passed doing those things, my life had found a meaning. I think this is what human wants the most in the end, that their life can be filled with many memories which they could enjoy , afterlife or not."

A warm smile found its way on her face as she looked at him, the morning's sun making it glow even more.

"I think you should see for yourself how a human life can be, how we live it and what feelings are, maybe then you will know what those words I just said meant."

Ulquiorra remained silent with a surprised look on his face, thought Orihime couldn't quite pinpoint was exactly he was surprised about, as his feet brought him closer to her, his long horns pointing toward the roof.

"Then your duty in exchange of my protection will be that, Orihime Inoue."

**please review , it make me motivated for next chapter! love and hug!**


	8. Chapter 7 : Penumbra

**I know this chapter is short, forgive me, i am simply going throught difficult times at the moment so the motivation and inspiration to write isn't at his highest, i hope you shall forgive me for that...**

**love and hug and enjoy , review are so much appreciated, thank you.**

**Chapter 7**

Both of their feet, one wearing a lovely pair of varnished black boots, the other far from looking human, were making a muffled sound on the carpeted floor. The hall they walked in was elegant, well-decorated but mostly silent. Orihime was aware she had a class starting in 2 minutes, but considering how teachers knew of her habits of always arriving late. They wouldn't bother searching for her, a thought that both annoyed and relieved her. Ulquiorra was mostly silent as he followed her through the endless looking hall ahead of them. He took his time to observe what exactly was surrounding him. The pillars that supported the structure were nicely carved into white marble, extending into the roof to make it look like a nice ark. An expensive looking vase was properly standing on an altar in front of one of the pillar. The hallway was illuminated by a series of stained glass windows that gave the carpet on the floor many different shades of colors. Most of them represented different saints and religious figures such as Angels, cherubs, monks, ancient popes, etc...

The demon stopped in his track at the sight of one in particular. It was a scene mostly having a red and purple coloration. He could clearly see a demonic form being impaled in the heart by an angelic figure. The tips of the lance having no blood; a nice reminder that for them, a heart is inexistent. His eyebrows frowns a little at the scene displayed in front of him before a voice got him out of his thoughts.

"Everything's okay?"

He remained silent as the young non walked back to him, seeing as well the scene that seemed to have caught his attention.

"Oh...The Penumbra."

"Penumbra?"

For the very first time, Orihime was quite proud she could answer one of his question and not the opposite.

"The purge of the devil, it's a scene we often read about in class. It teaches us that, no matter how dark days might seem, there's always a light waiting to slain the evils in our life or in the literal sense of the word..."

"What a ridiculous notion to teach..."

She let out a small sigh before crossing her arms and look at him with a slight frown.

"How come? I find that to be mood-lifting when you're down."

His eyes took on many different hues as he was standing in the sunlight through the stained-glass window. His almost naked torso tainted with purple, the color given by the demon on the glass.

"Because that very thought is filled with lies and exceptions to the rule. I have seen countless people waiting to be "saved" of their darkness but none of their calls would be answered. It would end up as that action you human call "Suicide". There is a lot of cases human are just doomed for sadness and misery, while the other swim in a pool of success and happiness."

His tongue made a slight clicking noise as his eyes closed themselves. His speech was about to be displeasing, she could feel it.

"Only the ones who never been through true despair themselves can say words like that, giving false hope to the others."

Like too many times before, she could only find herself speechless, her eyes showing a hint of sadness at his words.

"Well...I think you'll know one day the importance of those people who can give hope to the others..."

At that she continued on her way, while the dark haired demon simply following on, curious as to where the woman was leading both of them. The young nun said she needed to show him something, and he would be lying if he was to say he wasn't curious as to what could possibly hold his interest. She was far from knowing enough about him to know his interests, likings and disliking.

It didn't take long before both of them arrived at a huge marble carved door, having just above it, a sign which anyone could read "Main library". The one he saw before wasn't the main one then? He should have been more careful in inspecting the whole place.

The nun turned around on her feet to face Ulquiorra, a smile wearing itself slowly on her face, a sign that she thought of her idea a brilliant one before her lips started moving.

"The best way to know about human is to see their literature! How they think in the form of words! It's a world filled with interesting stuffs. I can bet you shall find very intelligent thesis about the nature of humans and their way of thinking."

Somehow, the demon was perplexed about what she just said...

"We shall see about that..."

The young woman pushed on the heavy door, using her whole upper body to move it as it very slowly opened. Ulquiorra , after a low sigh , simply used one of his finger to push the door open , at a faster speed than the woman had with her whole body strength. Not noticing he wasn't pushing, she fell on the floor at the sudden opening of the door. Her high-pitched squeal resonated within the Cathedral's wall while her hair fell over her face, preventing her from seeing any further than her nose.

"Tell me when you want to help!" saying so as she turned her hair to the previous direction of the demon. As she push her hair aside her face to look at Ulquiorra, she noticed he was standing a little too still, while her eyes meet his, he gesture quickly with his head to turn around, making no sound at all as he did so.

"What?"

When her head finally rotated 180 degree, she found out the reasons why, she wasn't alone in the library. She completely forgot that today, in her French class, they had a visit to the library for studying old scripture.

She could see Tatsuki and Rukia among the people looking at her, apparently very confused at her unusual behaviour.

"Uh ohh..."

The class's teacher, Sister Unohana, pushed up her glasses as the other student started muttering to themselves.

"May I know to whom you were speaking, Sister Orihime?"

Ulquiorra stood still, not even breathing as the careless nun remained silent for a while, her voice caught in her throat. If she had to choose between three moments she wanted to disappear the most, it would most likely be that one. She could feel the blood rushing through her cheeks, coloring them with a red tone.

"I...well, no one Sister Unohana, just mumbling to myself..."

What she just said didn't seemed to have convinced Unohana, but the older nun didn't pushed the matter further, she gestured with her hand for Orihime to go sit somewhere in the Library.

"Well you arrive on time, I hope you shall not make it an habit for you to arrive late, we are currently on the studying of Edmund Burke - _A Letter to a Noble Lord. _. . Please go take your copy of the book in Alley 4-F and write an essay about your impression on the book. I shall take it after you finished class. Since you arrived late, I want an essay of 2000 words instead of 1000."

Orihime could only sigh in discouragement as she got herself up and walked away from the group, almost being crushed inside by humiliation, shyness and self-hatred. Both Tatsuki and Rukia were watching her silently, holding a worried look on their face as she disappeared behind some book's shelf. Her best friend looked at her with a mix of pity and worries, knowing too well the problems arriving late had caused her. She could guess Orihime only wanted to be alone for now, so she didn't moved from her seat, only turning to Rukia to give the other nun a nod of staying at her place.

The young woman, between the Alley of old scripture and history novel, tried to make everyone forget her existent for some times, making as no sound as she possibly could. Her hair against the old dusty books made an orange-coloured cascade, a nice contradiction with her monochromic Nun's attire. She didn't found it in herself to blame Ulquiorra with what happened, after all, it was her who wanted to go to the library, but she would be lying if she would say that she didn't wanted to be invisible as he is right this instant.

"What is it that you wanted to show me?" ulquiorra was already at her side before she had the time to turn around to notice him , his body was supporting itself on the shelf, his leg crossed while his tail laid lump on the floor. Orihime thought that he probably ignored the importance of her remaining silent, which made her give him a look that told everything; I can't do anything for now.

But weirdly enough Ulquiorra didn't need to look at her eyes to know her situation, to know her feelings; he simply closed his eyes, and listened to the echoes her soul gave deep inside him.

Far away from the Library, the book the demon gave Orihime, slowly glowed of a purple light, unknown to everyone.


	9. Chapter 8: Pastry and daisies

**Finally another chapter!my apologies for the long Delay , i'll be sure to post on a more frequent basis.I just have a lot of duty right now that need to be attended to.**

**Love and hug everyone!**

**Enjoy!****Remember if you want to Beta-read this chapter, you are welcomed to!**

Tic

Tac

Tic

Tac

Stop the sound.

Tic

tac

One more Tic and she would probably go crazy…

Tic…

That's it.

No matter how much she desperately wanted to be anywhere than her current situation, the only thing her eyes could fix themselves upon was the white piece of paper she had in front of her. Writing that 2000 words essay found itself to be way harder than she initially thought and the worse was that a pretty distracting elements was in sight. Ulquiorra was still resting his back on a nearby shelf, without a care in the world whether his presences would be felt or not. Orihime wondered why the mediums in the clergy haven't detected him yet; they were supposed to feel those kinds of things weren't they?

Apparently not when one of them passed by the demon without even glancing in his direction, the priest was holding some books on medicine while he raise his glasses a little higher up his nose. The young nun had the sudden urge to roll her eyes at the ridicule of the situation. Nothing was going the way she wanted to, and it was starting to annoy her, and for something to annoy Orihime to the point of physically showing it: it takes a lot…

A whole lot.

Ulquiorra, loyal to himself, was simply boring his eyes into her being with a faint interest, apparently more concentrated on the fact she couldn't write anything. He was probably telling himself she was stupid to not be able to write such an easy-looking homework, or did he even knew what an homework was?

A low sigh escaped her lips at being observed, not only was it looking like he was silently laughing at her misery ,but it made her apparent distress more apparent than it should have been. Her auburn hairs hided her eyes as she let go of the pencil she was holding.

His deep-voice broke through the library-silence.

"If you finish this said text, are you available to show me all this knowledge you wanted to give me?" His eyes remain fixated upon the white sheet, looking at it with a barely noticeable interest.

"huh?,well yes I guess? But I am not anywhere close to being done…" at this, the young nun let herself rest on the back of her chair with a desperate sight.

The demon didn't reply, however, he pinned one of his claws on the sheet, gliding it toward him in one swift motion while his other hand took the pencil and started writing in a frenetic, fast way.

Orihime could only stare in disbelief at the speed he wrote the words on the sheet.

"w-what are you doing?"

Before he answered, the black-haired individual finished writing his last word and looked at her with a gaze that seemed to tell " is this allright?" , pushing back the sheet of paper just in front of her.

The more words she read on that sheet, the more her eyes widened at the accuracy of that essay ,it was a little more technical and without emotions like she use to do, but the ideas remained quite the same than what she had in mind to write, but couldn't.

"How did you…?"

"You are failing to remember the condition of our contract, woman, I specified I shared your soul now, which also means, your memories, thought and ideas. Though I can only analyse the data, not comprehend it if it's on a level which I fail to understand, like values, emotions and all. What I've just done was on a very technical side, thus, it was easy to interpret the data and put it on this sheet of paper, your brain can hold more memories than thousands upon thousands of is finding the road to those memories and knowledge that is harder."

She wasn't sure she understood all that he said, but she nodded with her head anyway, though slightly disturbed by the mention that he could know her thoughts… so if he were to know that she was thinking about kurosaki-

"For additional information, you do not have to worry about your human privacy, I only put concentration on what you think when it is necessary, on normal basis, I find no interest in reading all the data your brains and soul have to give…"

-Oh well that was an appreciated detail to know, at least she wouldn't have to worry constantly about what she was allowed to think about.

"Now come, show me what you wanted to."

Her heart skipped some beat at the tone of his voice; it was severe, demanding yet… The effect it had on her was making her feel uneasy, she usually didn't liked being ordered around unless by superiors, yet with him, it was like his order were a silent plea from which she couldn't do anything but comply.

She motioned for him to come with her as she rose from her seat, pushing the chair back on her way to a quiet shelf from which the upper panel was written "philosophy".

"First, if you want to understand how human think and understand how they act, philosophy and Morales teachings should be the best for you. There is many thing you can read, like the teachings of Descartes, who made the saying "I think therefor I am", the ones of Hobbes, Locke and Kant. These are pretty interesting philosophers you can look at."

The demon kept his usual blank stare as she whispered all this, making sure no one was around as she did so.

"A man needs to rest his thinking on Ethic and morals, or he only drowns in despair, anger or confusions. Since we weren't given a goal when we were born, we know nothing about the meaning of our life. We seek it out by the people who actually try the best they can to answer those questions, thus why I said earlier how important it is for others to support those who can't. Humans have a desire to know what their life means, they seek out that reasons through different ways, seeking happiness, seeking to destroy, seeking wealth, or seeking to help others…All they do is to fill the void of that kind of emptiness. Some never fill it, some does, it all comes down to what you make of your life…and what you find in the thing you did in it." She held a small smile in his direction as she spoke, the young woman was a little proud of herself to be able to speak out that much, usually she would stumble and search her words, but this time, her words flew with ease, she felt comfortable.

"Every human have their own personal reasons to say if their life was complete or not…some find meaning through the attention god give them…some through supporting their community and helping others…and some…" She never knew why she had difficulties talking about that subject, was it because herself, as a nun couldn't have access to it?

"...and some through giving their soul and love to someone else…their other half."

At that, Ulquiorra frown a little harder than usual. His eyes drowning in confusion while his tail moved to twist around one of his legs because of one priest who was about to step on it.

"Giving their soul? Other half? I wasn't aware humans had the power to make contract similar to mine."

At his reply, Orihime could only giggle quietly at his apparent naivety concerning the subject.

" No no , I didn't meant it like that , for us , when you say you give your soul to someone , it means you love them very much and you want to help them and support them through their entire life."

"Love?"

She was secretly hoping he wouldn't ask the question, since herself had difficulties talking about the subject, but now that the rock was throw, she had to catch it…

"Hum well …how to explain it…"

It was difficult for it to be put into words the demon before her would actually understand.

"When you find someone you would die for, someone you would like to live all your life alongside with, a tender, deep, passionate affection toward someone …" She was playing with her finger as she spoke, an evident sign that she was agitated.

Her eyes shifted to his owns, apparently seeking any kind of acceptation of his part, it wasn't like he would actually know what she was talking about, but the young nun at the weird feeling she wanted him to approve of what she was saying, though she held no such luck.

"Humans attach themselves too easily over things they could lose any day, they willingly let themselves sink into the void of losing things precious to them even though they knew it beforehand. I fail to understand that notion and what reasons push your kind to do such a ridiculous thing." His tone held a certain annoyance, being slightly frustrated over that fact.

Orihime's eyes lowered to look on the carpeted floor; it's true that getting attached means losing things, being hurt by them, but the she felt deep inside that having a sip of what it could be, can be, or will be, is better than never tasting it at all.

"I heard someone write in a book once, that living a life without tasting what love is, is not living. Feeling like your heart is about to burst, such a deep attachment that simply talking to the person give your life more meaning… All those things give life another flavour that people simply can't resist from."

The nun giggled quietly at the next sentence she was about to say.

"Maybe if you ever taste love, you'll understand why so much people want it, heehee."

The thought alone of a demon ever loving anyone seemed so contradictory to her usual belief, even thought she was slowly realising that the creature standing before her wasn't anything close to what she thought a demon would be, but nevertheless, love was just something that looked too foreign to him, or maybe too unreachable.

Ulquiorra didn't replied, but simply made a scoffing sound, probably considering that the thought was as ridiculous as she thought it was. His moved himself to turn his back to her, making her unable to look at him in the eyes.

"I think you misunderstood me when I said I wanted knowledge on how human think. I have read a lot of things in my life and seen just as much, but without someone who experienced those things, it has no meaning."

The young woman blinked at his statements, confused and not really knowing what he was getting at.

"I want you to show me, what do YOU do to give your life meaning, what are the things you do to fill the void and find a reasons for your existence? I want to hear those explanations from someone that actually felt them."

Her eyes widened a bit at these words, but considering his situation, being a Vigilio and all, it's not a wonder book and teachings do not impress him. He needs to learn by experiencing it, it's no wonder. Oddly enough, she knew of one thing that could maybe teach him a little the wonder of feelings, finding a meaning of life and such.

"Follow me "a small motion with her hand followed shortly afterward as she started walking out of the library.

Ulquiorra followed quietly , his wings being careful at not kicking anything out in his way , nobody could see or hear him, but he wasn't going through object, thus had to be careful not to touch anything. The woman was walking happily through the different rooms and alleys that composed the cathedral. The demon took his time to look at the priest that passed by them, there was a little girl with pink hair that seemed extremely energetic while a certain imposing looking man was following behind her. The second one that walked slowly pass him was a woman with orange hair, and a uniform that was way too small for her, mostly taking into accounts the strong size of her chest, thought he had the feeling it was intentional on her part.

"Where are we going exactly, woman?"

Orihime tilted his head at him while walking; she held a bright smile on her face as she walked. It took her a small amount of time for her to reply, just enough for both of them to have reached the door that leaded outside of the giant structure.

"Outside!"

The nun was about to push open the door when she felt a soft warm piece of fur on the back of her hand, tickling the skin there. When her eyes looked down, his hand was resting there, preventing her from opening the door. Her heart skipped a beat at realising that fact.

"Before going outside, I shall need to do something…"

The contact of his hand against hers was broken instantly, leaving an odd sensation, like her skin was missing his. Her confused eyes rested on him, as he slowly walked a few step behind her. The creature didn't moved an inch for a while, apparently concentrated on something. In an instant, with only a soft green glow, the fur covering his arm slowly regressed; his horn dissolving into a light green dust as the mark on his face disappeared, leaving only two very thin green lines. Before the fur could disappear from improper places, an unique kind of uniform appeared on him in a blink, it was looking extremely alike Kurosaki's ichigo priest uniform , but the colors were inversed, instead of the usual black coat and white collar, he had a long white coat with a black collar… right now he looked…

…Human.

She just stared at his form for a long time, taking in all the new information that was presented before her eyes. His hair were now stopping at his shoulder, instead of his lower back, his eyes were green in colors and didn't possessed the black sclera anymore. The fur covering him completely disappeared, showing more of his porcelain skin while his horn, tail and claws disappeared. He looked like any usual human would; well maybe putting aside the fact he was very elegant…

But that was something she would put at the back of her mind.

His voice made her snap back into reality, looking almost eager she would stop looking at him.

"This form make me visible to anyone, considering we were about to step outside, the number of eyes I would have to hide from, would have took too much energy to kept myself invisible for each of them. It is preferable and less tiring, to go in this form, and keep the energy for urgent situation."

Orihime nodded slowly with her head, looking from head to toe at the new form he had, his green eyes were almost shimmering with the lighting effect of the stained-glass window.

"It…comes in handy."

If she was more concentrated on his face, she could have seen the barely visible grin that appeared on his face. He looked a little confused yet amused.

"If you keep staring at me like this, I will start to think you have reproduction's interest on my fake human form…"

Her mouth found itself to be shaped like an O, her cheeks clearly flustered as she looked at him in total shock. She didn't even tried to explain her Sister's vow to him or even reprimand him; she simply stormed off outside, her eyebrow frowning in a clearly offended manner as she shut the door on his face, walking outside hiding her red face.

"…What did I said?" the confusion, for once, was clearly visible on Ulquiorra's face.

* 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 * 0 *

The walk to whatever places Orihime had in mind was done in silence.

Only the sound of their footstep could be heard, sand and dirt being kicked off by the young nun's irritated footstep. The now human looking demon could only frown in confusion at her behaviour, apparently there was a lot of thing that was left unknown on human's custom from which he needed to learn about. The confused male said the first thing that could come to mind in such a situation. He wouldn't want to spend the future weeks with an annoyed woman to watch over.

"My apologies if there was anything I said that clearly offended you?"

The auburn haired woman stopped in her track on the street of the city, when she turned around to face the male, he found out she didn't looked as angry or offended as she was some second ago.

"I will apologies if we go there." One of her finger was pointing in the direction of a shop, a pastries shop to be precise. There was a few customers sitting outside on a terrace, but most of them were inside, choosing between many different kind of cake and cookies.

A low sigh coming from Ulquiorra followed her eager statement; he didn't need to eat even if he could, so such enthusiasm over a simple piece of food was something exaggerated in his opinion. Nevertheless her apparent desire to go in this said shop was probably a low price to pay if he desired for her to apology about his earlier statement.

"Very well, but I shall wait on the terrace…" Soon after those words came past his lips, his feet brought him to a nearby chair, sitting on it lazily as his eyes seemed to tell her to hurry silently, which she did , skipping happily in the shop while the owner welcomed her with a happy " oh , Sister Orihime!". The young "man" took the time to ponder on his actual situation while she was busy choosing her pastries. He had to admit he never spoke this much, done so many things or even saw so many things as he did today. When he seriously thought about it, he never remembered himself even uttering the word "Terrace".

As much as gaining new information pleased him, he had to admit gaining this kind of information was a doubled-edged sword. What he could find might be something that could change his views, his thinking and his being. He didn't want to end up at god's mercy or being controlled by anyone. Thought the thought of Orihime giving him order bother him less than supposed which made him frown a little. He was taking so much risk and at what price? He wasn't even sure.

Before he could further think about it, a lemon-flavored pastry suddenly came into his field of visions, a hand shaking it slightly in an effort to make him snap out of his thoughts.

"Do you want one? " Orihime was smiling at him while sitting on the chair just in front of him, putting the bag of freshly brought pastries on the table between them.

"Does eating one give humans a meaning of life?"

The young nun laughed warmly at his reply, also happy about the fact she could stop whispering or being paranoiac when talking to him, people would see them as simply two people talking now, and not one being crazy and talking alone.

"No no …it's just yummy! Thought some could say they find meaning in doing it…" With that, she took a bite in her own, strawberry-flavoured Dutch pastry.

The demon almost reluctantly took the pastry from her owns hand, taking a small bite before the sweet yet sour note of the dessert touched his tongue.

"It's edible"

She smiled at his subtle way of saying it was good, she glanced on the side to take in the vision of a child eating a pastry with stars in his eyes.

"See this, Ulquiorra?"

He only hummed in response, his mouth already full of another bite.

"This child is happy eating the thing he does, since sometimes people can't always afford this. They enjoy the happiness while it last. This simple pastry have enough meaning for some people to make them … ( she hold out her own in front of his face to put emphasis on her point)… the owner make them to see those kind of smiles every day. To bring happiness through what he can make from his own hands. That alone is enough for him to live every day, since, no matter how happiness never last, there shall always be people coming at his shops for a cup of it. Same thing for people making all you see around you, or people creating art."

His eyes were watching hers with interest, holding a certain warmness she never saw before.

"Of course there are exceptions with people that find meaning in taking happiness away from others…" Her tone held a certain sadness as she spoke.

"…But there shall always be exceptions in anything in life."

The smile she held as she looked at him gave Ulquiorra a strange sensation she was targeting him in her sentence. Why him? What did she meant?

When they walked to return to the cathedral, or like she putted it, to her "secluded life", the red-haired woman stopped on her way, looking at a field of flowers mainly composed of daisies. It was a place she grew fond of over the years, where her brother would always take her there to make flower headband or bracelet. They would wither very fast, but it was fun to make either way.

"It there some interest to be found in a gathering of _Leucanthemum vulgare_ ?"

The dark-haired man's way of always sounding so serious at such a funnily said sentence would always make her laugh.

"I always used to come with my brother here"

"Used to imply he doesn't do so anymore…." He tones didn't changed from his usual deadpan, but she could pick up a slight vibe of curiosity or concern, difficult to tell.

"He is quite busy as a priest now… he must study hard and go visit a lot of places….I became lonely that's for sure…."

Even thought he could tell it wasn't something pleasant for her to talk about, she still hold a small smile on her face as she looked over at him, the sunset on his face gave his skin an orange glow that was quite pleasant to keep her eyes on.

"Your soul told me as much…"

Orihime picked up a flower from the field before replying.

"I guess that's why I look a little forward your company from now on…"

She wasn't sure if she was looking forward to simply talk to him, or looking forward to see him, the loneliness she developed over the years was something that made her act stupidly or think stupid things…she didn't wanted to put terms on things she wasn't sure of yet. Ulquiorra was looking at her with frowned eyebrows, looking more angry at himself, than her.

"A nun shouldn't look forward to those kinds of things if she does not want to be in trouble in the universe she lives in."

Oddly enough, the said nun could only nod in sadness, apparently a little tired that no matter where she looked; there were always boundaries to be found in her life.

"I have to report now."

"Will you be back?", stupid question considering the situation, she face palmed mentally for asking the obvious.

"As long as this contract is not over."

Before Ulquiorra could actually disappear like she was so used to see, Orihime picked in his hair the daisies she preciously grabbed.

"Take that with you, I heard they could use some flowers in hell…" The giggle that followed after that made the demon frowns in a sudden burst of fascination that wasn't evident to see. This woman sure was an exception compared to everything he seen before. Even with the frown, he made no gesture to remove the said flower from his hair as he disappeared.

When Orihime went to sleep that night, she discovered two things:

She left the essay Ulquiorra wrote on the library's desk…

…And she found a small bracelet made of daisies resting on her nightstand.

**Review appreciated! **


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